Emulsions are utilized in a range of industries, including the food, biological sciences, and chemical industries. In particular, the chemical and biological sciences industries utilize emulsions to isolate volumes of reactants. For example, the chemical industry utilizes emulsions for emulsion polymerization in which small volumes of monomers in solution are isolated as a dispersed phase and subsequently polymerized. In the biological sciences, particularly the genetic sciences, emulsions have been used to isolate genetic material into dispersed volumes, limiting cross-contamination between the dispersed volumes. In a particular example, emulsions are utilized to isolate volumes that include a bead support and a polynucleotide to be amplified. For example, a polynucleotide isolated in a small volume with a bead support, primers, a variety of nucleotides, enzymes, and other cofactors can be subjected to amplification conditions to facilitate the formation of nucleic acid beads incorporating the amplified polynucleotide or complements thereof.
While the principles of amplification are understood, the process or automation of this process has proven difficult. In particular, automation of the formation of the emulsion is challenging. Moreover, automating the recovery of the bead supports from an emulsion following amplification has proven challenging. Often, a significant portion of the bead supports to which products of the amplified polynucleotide are attached are lost during the separation of the bead supports from the emulsion. As such, the yield of bead supports conjugated to polynucleotides is diminished. Such a loss of yield can adversely affect genetic testing methods.